iPhone 15 Pro Prices; Facebook Notches 3 Billion Users; Way Rolls Back Truck Efforts; Tesla Under Investigation from Cal AG

We have heard rumors for months that Apple will probably bump up the price of the iPhone Pro models when the 15 comes out. Macrumors.com reports that an analyst at Barclays Bank in Britain thinks he has the numbers after talking to supply chain companies in Asia. Tim Long says look for the iPhone Pro Max to be $1299 up from $1099, and the 15 Pro to go up a hundred from $999 to $1099. The iPhone 15 and 15 Plus will not have price boosts, so should be $799 and $899 respectively. The Pro Max is expected to have a periscope telephoto zoom lens that will give it 5-6 power optical zoom without the blur you get from electronic zoom. The materials for the periscope lens alone is adding $50 to the cost of the phone. Of course, Apple could surprise us, and eat part of the cost, so the phone would only go up $100. We’ll know in mid September at any rate.

Meta reported a good quarter, with 11% growth in revenue at $32 billion, and a 16% increase in net income for a $7.8 billion haul. That’s all great, but the company hit a really huge milestone with Facebook…passing 3 billion users for the first time…and for the first time for any social media app. The monthly user base has bee flat at Facebook for some time, but showed a 3% growth. Meta’s other apps grew by more…Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger all grew by 6% year over year. The Threads app just came out so it isn’t included in the numbers as yet. 

Waymo is rolling back its driverless trucking efforts, in a move to focus on ride hailing. Engadget.com says Waymo s claiming ‘significant’ growth for demand for its robot axis in Los Angeles, Phoenix, and San Francisco. The Alphabet-owned brand still plans to work with Daimler on self-driving semi trucks, which they started testing on in 2017.

The California Attorney General’s office is investigating Tesla. CNBC reports that the government is seeking information from customers and former employees about Autopilot safety issues and false advertising complaints. The California Department of Motor Vehicles has been investigating Tesla’s driver assistance systems for years and has formally accused the company of deceptive practices in marketing its Autopilot and FSD technology. The AG’s office declined comment, noting that they don’t discuss current investigations. 

I’m Clark Reid and you’re ‘Technified’ for now.